Electrogalvanic battery.



Patented July l7; -l9'00. H. J. BREWER.

ELECTROGALVANIC BATTERY.

(Application filed H06. 15, 1899.)

. No Model.)

2 Sheets-Shoot l,

Patented July I7, I900.

H. J. BREWER.

ELECTRUGALVANIC BATTERY.

(Application filed Nov. 16, 1899.)

2 sne'ets shnet (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES noRA'rro J. BREWER,

PATENT Orricn.

on NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTROGAl VAN IC BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,765, dated July 17, 1900.

Original application filed July 7, 1899, Serial No. 723,055. Divided and this application filed November 15, 1899. Serial No.

' 737,076. (No model.)

['0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HORATIO J. BREWER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrogalvanic Batteries, of which the following is a specification sufficient to enable others skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to galvanic batteries of the class in which the cond uctingor electronegative element consists of'a carbon electrode having conglomerate materialsuch as peroxid of manganese, carbon, &c.-attached thereto, as in the Leclanch battery.

I am aware that the carbon electrode has heretofore been embedded directly in a mass of compressed conglomerate, so as to be united integrally therewith; but such intimate connection between carbon and conglomerate is objectionable in that excessive internal resistance results from the production and retention of ammonia in the conglomerate. To obviate this, the loose electronegative material has been confined around the carbon elect-rode in a bag or porous cup, as in my Patents No. 369,769, of September 13, 1887, and No. 380,084, of March 27, 1888; but in these cases, while the gases are free to escape from the element, the envelop retains the solid products of chemical action and depolarization is retarded. Furthermore, the packing of the loose electronegative material is a delicate and tedious operation. On the other hand, the conglomerate slabs ofelectronegative material bound to the carbon electrode by rubber bands as at present known and used, while convenient of application and primarily effective as to depolarization, become less effective as the rubber binders deteriorate, lessening the frictional contact between conglomerate and carbon and increasing internal resistance and finally allowing the conglomerate to drop to the bottom of the cell, where the accumulated deposit of zinc and carbon forms a short circuit and renders the battery useless.

The objects of my present invention are to attain an electronegative element of carbon and conglomerate in which depolarization is facilitated by the peculiar configuration, ar-

' thereof.

rangeinent, and combination of parts and in Which the connection between carbon and conglomerate is practically permanent.

My invention consists in an electronegative element comprised of a plate or slab of carbon' constituting the electrode the edges of which converge from the bottom upward, upon which converging edges is suspended an elongate tubiform mass of conglomerate the external surface of which (except at the ends) is substantially vertical, while the internal surface, while conforming to the converging edges of the carbon, also creates a space on either side thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top view of a battery embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top view of the cover Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation upon plane of line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a similar View upon plane of line at 1, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section upon plane of line 5 5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the body of the carbon electrode, the upper portion thereof being shown in elevation.

J represents the ordinary glass jar of a battery, the mouth of which is closed bya cover K, formed with openings 7.: k for the upper ends, respectively, of the carbon or negative electrode 0 and the zinc or positive electrode Z. The means herein shown for supporting the carbon electrode 0 on the cover K and effecting a positive electrical connection between said carbon C and the conducting-wire to forms the subject-matter of my application, Serial No. 723,055, filed July 7, 1899, of which the present application is a subdivision, and need not be described in detail herein, since the means of supporting and connecting the carbon electrode may be varied Without departing from the spirit and intent of the in vention herein described and claimed specifically.

As shown in the drawings, the tubiform depolarizerT is cylindrical in external form and has a central conical bore corresponding to the converging sides 0 c of the carbon plateG,thus creating internal vertical passages t t within the electronegative element for the circulation of the exciting liquid and the escape of the hydrogen and other gaseous products. If desired, the carbon plate 0 may be formed with lateral openings or passages c c to still further promote circulation and depolarization; but this is not an essential feature in my new electronegative element, the distinguishing feature of which is a tubiform mass of conglomerate depolarizing material formed in one.piece,with substantially vertical exterior sides and an internal longitudinal passage conforming in part to the converging sides of the carbon and suspended thereon, but in contact only with the said converging edges thereof. Thus obviously polygonal and other forms may be substituted for the cylindrical shape shown, provided the external side walls are maintained in substantiallyvertical 1ines,-the design being .to facilitate the escape of the gaseous products. Thus also the internal form of opening in the de polarizer may be modified without materially altering its function. By forming the conglomerate mass in one continuous integral piece,with internal inclined surfaces converging from bottom to top to conform to the converging edges of the carbon plate and suspending it thereon, I insure an intimate contact between the carbon and the conglomerate which is practically permanent, since the weight of the mass of conglomerate material will cause it to wedge itself tightly against the edges of the carbon under all conditions of use, while the passages between the sides of the carbon and the conglomerate obviate internal resistance in the element by providing for the escape of the gases generated during the action of the battery.

It will thus be seen that my present form of electronegative element differs materially from those shown in my Letters Patent Nos. 323,903, $23,904:, and 323,905, dated August 11, 1885, and No. 391,505, of October 23, 1888, in which disks of conglomerate are suspended upon conical carbons, there being no circulation between the opposed surfaces of the carbon and the disks for the prevention of internal resistance,and the extensive horizontal surface presentedby the under sides of the disks tending to collect and hold the hydrogen gas in quantity, thereby retarding depolarization, objections which I obviate in my present structure by suspending a single tubiform depolarizer upon the converging edges of a carbon plate, upon both sides of which are vertical passages for the escape of gases generated internally, and by reducing the horizontal surface exposure to the minimum and increasing the mass of material and the vertical exposure of surface. Furthermore, in the present form the greater portion of the carbon elect-rode is exposed to the action of the exciting liquid, the vertical sides of the carbon being free and unobstructed, whereas in my prior patents referred to the disks cover the greater portion of the external surfaces of the carbon within the exciting liquid and prein annular contact with a conical carbon, the

weight of each disk in the latter case being comparatively slight and being evenly distributed around the carbon, so that there is danger of imperfect contact, and hence of resistance, between the opposed surfaces of the carbon and conglomerate.

More perfect depolarization and electrical conductivity are attained in my new battery element, and at the same time the construction is simplified and cheapened and the assembling of the parts facilitated.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electronegative element for galvanic batteries the combination of an electrode consisting of an elongated vertical plate of carbon the longitudinal edges of which converge from the bottom upward to form an inverted wedge, and a tubiform mass of depolarizing material formed with an internal passage of greater area in cross-section than the area in cross-section of the carbon plate but of less diameter than the width of the lower portion of said plate, whereby the tubiform conglomerate is suspended upon the longitudinal edges of said carbon plate, and longitudinal passages extending the whole length of the conglomerate are formed between the sides of said carbon plate and the opposed internal surface of conglomerate, so as to afford unobstructed circulation vertically between the said sides of the carbon plate and said opposed surfaces of conglomerate, substantially as set forth.

2. In an electronegative element for galvanic batteries the combination of an electrode consisting of an elongated vertical plate of carbon the longitudinal edges of which converge from the bottom upward to form an inverted wedge, and a cylindrical mass of depolarizing material formed with an internal conical passage of greater area in cross-section than the area in cross-section of the carbon plate but of less diameter than the width of the lower portion of the carbon plate,where-' by the cylinder of conglomerate is suspended upon the longitudinal edges of said carbon plate, and longitudinal passages extending the whole length of the cylinder are formed between the sides of the carbon plate and the opposed internal surfaces of conglomerate, so as to afford unobstructed circulation vertically between the said sides of the carbon plate and said opposed surfaces of conglomerate, substantially as set forth.

HORATIO J. BREWER.

Witnesses:

GEO. WM. MIATT, D. W. GARDNER. 

